


Nico Nico Neet!!

by hoshikashipan



Category: Love Live! School Idol Project
Genre: Alternate Universe, Crushes, Doctor Maki - Freeform, F/F, Friendship, Hate to Love, Kissing, Minor Original Character(s), Neet Nico, On Hiatus, Online Friends, muse never formed
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-07-27
Updated: 2016-08-21
Packaged: 2018-07-26 19:50:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,436
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7587604
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hoshikashipan/pseuds/hoshikashipan
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After graduating uni Nico has trouble finding a job. She resorts to being shut in her house obsessing over idols with her online friend Idollvr17 who she may or may not have a crush on. Nico's mother isn't too happy about Nico's lack of motivation, so she sends her to Totsukawa to inspire her. Nico feels that the trip is pointless until she meets a certain girl,</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Wow this is my first ever posted fic on here. I'm already in the middle of making the next chapter so that'll be up pretty soon. I feel like this first chapter is a little rushed, but give me your opinion, I'm very open to criticism.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Beta Reader: https://www.fanfiction.net/u/7669922/
> 
> Enjoy! There will be more chapters to come!

_"Motto shiritai shiritai kajouna Life_

_Ima yume no yume no naka e_

_Motto shiritai shiritai kajouna Life"_

Nico stares at the screen. It's a live recording of A-Rise which Nico had never seen before. She had of course heard the song before but this was different. Their voices sound much more mature and much smoother than they had been when the song was first released. They had been her favorite school idol group throughout her high school years. She was lucky that A-Rise decided to be full time idols after graduating from high school. Even if they had quit the idol community Nico knew it wouldn't have been the same. Plus, they were the closest to Nico's heart. She couldn't simply forget about them if they disbanded. The songs they sang helped Nico get through the rough times, and more importantly they were her main inspiration to become an idol herself.

 

_Ping!_

Nico breaks away from her thoughts to see that she got a message from her online friend. She doesn't know the girl's real name only the username that she chose.

Idollvr17: Have you seen the new A-Rise live video?  **5:34pm**

Niconiconii: I'm watching it right now! **5:34pm**

She smiles and looks back to the video. Her and Idollvr17 had been talking for almost a few years. They met on an A-Rise chat forum and haven't stopped talking to each other since. It didn't take long for them to find out that they were both equally obsessed with idols and both shared a dream of being an idol. They always joked about forming their own group, but Idollvr17 didn't want to give her identity to Nico for security and privacy reasons. She understands and always makes a point to respect the other girl's privacy. Though it made her realize that she didn't really care about her own privacy, most of the time she feels herself wanting the other girl to know who she is. Sometimes she thinks it would be nice to have a new friend.

The only time Idollvr17 really "gave hints" about who she was to Nico was about a year ago. Nico had recently graduated university and was raving about it to her. That was when Idollvr17 revealed that she had just graduated from high school giving Nico a better idea of how old she is. Though she feels herself growing more and more attached to the girl she's never met. With all of the conversations they've had, Nico feels like Idollvr17 is her closest friend.

Idollvr17: I heard that they might be touring!  **5:36pm**

Niconiconii: Seriously?!  **5:37pm**

Idollvr17: **typing…**

"Nico! I need help with dinner!"

"Okay mama!" She types a quick message to Idollvr17 saying that she has to go, and hurries into the kitchen to help her mother.

When she walks in she sees her mother tending to a pot on the stove. "Cocoa's choice tonight," she explains. "She wants miso soup. Can you cut up some potatoes for me?"

"Sure," She notices a sack of potatoes on the kitchen counter so she grabs some from there. She gets out the cutting board and a knife as well. Things get peacefully quiet, so she decides that this is the perfect chance. "Hey mama?"

"What is it, Nico?"

"The idol group I really like, A-Rise, might be going on tour," Nico responds coolly. "I was thinking that maybe I could go?"

Nico's mother sighs. "You know that we don't have money for that, Nico. I'd say use your own money, but you don't even have a job yet."

"I'm still figuring things out," she responds defensively. "I was just looking for jobs the other day." Which was true but none of them interested her or paid enough for her liking.

"That's what you've been saying since you've graduated," her mother says. She adds tofu into the pot and continues to cut up more. "I understand that it's a confusing time, and I love still having you around, but you can't be shut in the house all the time watching idol videos."

"I know," she admits.

"Do you talk to your friends from high school anymore? Maybe they can help you out."

"I haven't been able to get a hold of them…"

Nico's mom suddenly snaps her fingers. "I've got it!"

"Got what?" she asks obviously startled by the sudden snap.

"I know exactly what you need," she says. "A nice vacation away from home to help clear your head. Meeting new people and seeing new opportunities would definitely help."

"Vacation? Where would I go?"

"Hmm… Oh! I've heard that the Spring scenery in Totsukawa is nice. I used to have a friend that lived down there. They also have natural hot springs to make you feel one with nature."

Nico becomes more interested at the mention of a natural hot spring, but is still skeptical. "But what about money for a hotel room or a plane ticket?"

"I have that covered. Plane tickets to Totsukawa aren't too expensive anyway. But you going there to clear your mind is what matters at the moment."

"Do you think going to Totsukawa would help me get a job?"

"No, it'll help you clear your head so that you can figure out what you're going to do with your life though." She puts her hand on Nico's shoulder and sighs. "I don't want you to feel like you've wasted your life when you get older. I want you to be happy and satisfied."

Nico leans closer to her mother. "I do too. I just don't know what I should do or where to even start. I don't even like thinking about it."

"You'll be okay I know that you will. I needed time to figure things out too when I was your age, and thinking about my future stressed me out all of the time. I hated talking about it and didn't have the motivation to do anything."

"That's how I feel," Nico sighs.

Nico's mom smiles. "And that's exactly why you need this vacation. After dinner I'll look online for hotels and plane tickets."


	2. Muse Inn

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nico arrives in Totsukawa and meets some new people.

Two days later and Nico is sitting on an airplane waving bye to her mom and her siblings. She's not sure how her mom got the tickets so quickly or the cost of them. She also brought a good bit of money that she's saved over the course of a few years. Her mom also gave her a little more just in case. And luckily the inn where she is going to stay at was pretty cheap. Especially for the amount of time that she's going to spend there. She almost expects it to be run down.  
  
Nico soon becomes bored and pulls her laptop out of the backpack she brought with her. She asks the stewardess for the Wi-Fi password and connects. She puts on her headphones and plays her idol mix playlist. Then she pulls up her instant message account and reads her conversation with Idollvr17 over again. She still can't believe their conversation from two days prior.  
  
Niconiconii: Sorry about that I had to help with dinner ( ´△｀) Also I have something crazy to tell you.  **7:43pm**  
  
Idollvr17: That's okay! What's going on?  **7:55pm**  
  
Niconiconii: I'm taking a trip to Totsukawa! I'll be there for a few weeks!  **7:56pm**  
  
Idollvr17: That's amazing! (/^▽^)/ I hope that you have fun Nico-Chan!  **7:56pm**  
  
Idollvr17: That's pretty ironic actually  **7:57pm**  
  
Niconiconii: Why?  **7:57pm**  
  
Idollvr17: I know friends that live there! (And I may or may not live there too)  **7:58pm**  
  
Niconiconii: Are you saying that we could meet each other? (￣ω￣)  **7:58pm  
**  
Idollvr17: Even if we do we won't recognize each other lol  **8:03pm**  
  
Niconiconii: That's true… See you there?  **8:04pm  
**  
Idollvr17: Maybe (^_−)  **8:04pm  
**  
That's the last message that Nico got from Idollvr17 since the other day. She decides to send her a message telling her that's she's on her way. She's surprised by the almost immediate response.  
  
Idollvr17: Okay! I'll keep an eye out for you  **6:34pm  
**  
Niconiconii: Also you've been surprisingly open with me. Why is that?  **6:35pm**  
  
Idollvr17: I feel like I can trust you Nico-chan. You're very kind and genuine, and if we happen to meet let's go to my house to watch idol videos! **6:37pm**  
  
Niconiconii: Awesome! I can't wait (•̀o•́)ง  **6:38pm**  
  
She feels a rush of good energy flowing through her after reading Idollvr17's message. Though she does admit that it is weird for the other girl to be so willing to reveal information, but it felt good to be trusted. It wouldn't make much sense if they didn't trust each other after talking to one another for so long.  
  
Nico realizes that a good amount of time has passed, and looks out of the window to see Totsukawa below. "That was faster than I thought," she thinks as the buildings below start to become clearer. She feels her excitement rising as the plane starts to land. Soon an announcement is made over the loudspeaker, and Nico grabs her backpack and goes to get the rest of her luggage.  
  
Luckily it doesn't take her long to get out of the airport. It isn't too crowded which surprises her. She guesses that the area she's staying in isn't a big tourist spot. She calls a taxi and gets to the inn in no time at all. The inn actually looks really nice on the outside. Very clean and well kempt. It's traditional but with a modern touch. It didn't look like a place where all of the staff members would wear yukatas, but all around just seeming like a friendly atmosphere. She hurries up to the door with her luggage and knocks a few times.  
  
A young woman answers the door and smiles when seeing her. "You must be Yazawa-San. Welcome!" She nods. "We got your mother's phone call the other day. You two sure are lucky that this isn't our busy season or getting a room wouldn't have been possible." She leads Nico upstairs to her room which looks very western inspired with very modern looking furniture. "We have themed rooms," she explains. "This is our western themed room. Call us if you need anything. A note on your bed should explain our rules and regulations." She gives the shorter girl the room key and starts to walk away.  
  
"Thank you," she says as the girl walks away. "Oh wait! What's your name?"  
  
The woman stops and laughs. "Excuse my rudeness. My name is Kousaka Honoka. Have a good stay Yazawa-San!"  
  
"Thank you!"  
  
Nico closes the door and pockets her room key. She takes a look at the previously mentioned note on her bed and she skims it. Breakfast is served between seven thirty and eight every morning, lunch served around twelve, and dinner served around six thirty and seven. If you miss any meal you can call room service but it'll have to cost money. She's fine with waking up early if it means a free meal. Also the Wi-Fi is free, but sometimes it cuts out late at night. She doesn't plan on staying up all night here anyway, so that isn't a problem. Besides that, there weren't any other rules that affected her.  
  
After unpacking she decides to explore the inn. She leaves her room, locks the door, and then goes downstairs. She quickly finds the dining room and kitchen which is the room next to the entrance. Though she can slightly hear someone getting chewed out in another room.  
  
"You're supposed to give all of the customers a tour, Honoka!"  
  
"I'm sorry I just forgot."  
  
"You always forget!"  
  
"It'll be okay! I can just get her from the room and..."  
  
The other person sighs. "Oh well it's too late for that."  
  
Nico hears a door open behind her and Honoka and another young woman, probably the one that was shouting at her, come into the room. The young woman tenses up at the sight of her. "Uh- Did you hear all of that? I'm so sorry!"  
  
"Don't worry about it," she responds. "I'm kind of giving myself a tour here."  
  
"There's no need for that, Yazawa-San! I can still show you around." Honoka offers.  
  
Nico smiles. "Thank you. And there's no need to be so formal."  
  
"Oh- Um," the young woman holds out her hand for Nico to shake. "I'm Umi Sonoda. I'm the owner of this place." Nico smiles at her and shakes her hand.  
  
"Hey I am too," Honoka butts in.  
  
"Well yes," Umi continues. "Everyone on staff here has been friends with us since high school. It was our dream to make this place, so we all own and run it together. It's been working well for the past few years. We started it after graduating high school. None of us really had an idea of what to do for money."  
  
"Oh speaking of our staff! You should meet our cooks! They cook the most delicious foods! And they'll make your favorites if you ask them!"  
  
"Wait Honoka; they're probably busy."  
  
"They won't mind!" Honoka leads Nico into the kitchen where a girl with orange hair is preparing ramen. She's chopping leeks and green peppers, and has a pot sitting on the stove. It smells so good that Nico's afraid that she'll start drooling. "Rin-Chan! Hanayo-Chan! We have a new guest!"  
  
The girl with orange hair stops cutting vegetables, and turns to introduce herself. "Hiya I'm Rin Hoshizora!"  
  
"Where's Hanayo-Chan?" Honoka asks.  
  
"She's on break," Rin keeps a big smile on her face and keeps her attention on her guest. "As a cook here it's my job to make sure you eat food that lets you feel at home. Rin wants to make your eating experience here nyantastic!"  
  
Nico can't help but smile wider. The girl's introduction sounded rehearsed, but it still made her feel welcomed. "Thank you. Though my favorite kind of food is sweets." she admits.  
  
"Isn't it everyone's?" she responds cheerfully. "Though that's Honoka's specialty."  
  
"Yup!" Honoka jumps in. "And I'm making cheesecake for dessert tonight."  
  
"It's been so long since Nico's had cheesecake," Nico licks her lips hungrily. "Mama- I mean my mom used to make it for my brother's birthday."  
  
"I'm so glad!" she raves. "Hopefully my cheesecake will be as good as your mom's."  
  
"Anything else I should know?" Rin asks.  
  
"I don't really like spicy food."  
  
"Well you're lucky that Rin doesn't like her ramen spicy," she chuckles.  
  
Nico nods. "It smells delicious."  
  
"Don't worry Rin'll finish up this ramen, so that Nico-Chan can be the first to taste it!"  
  
Rin goes back to chopping vegetables, and Honoka continues the tour. The inn is bigger than Nico originally imagined it would be. There's a few more rooms including a common room with lots of puzzles and games, and a library with a decent amount of books. Honoka even shows her where she keeps her secret stash of manga for when she slacks off.  
  
As the tour comes to an end there's a question on Nico's mind that she wants to ask. "Why aren't there many guests here now? It seems kind of empty."  
  
"This isn't our busy season," Honoka explains. "Usually the summertime when vacation starts are when we get a lot of guests."  
  
"So I'm the only guest in the building right now? That's a little unnerving."  
  
"Yup!" She seemingly ignores Nico's last comment. "Our last guests left a few days ago. A cute old married couple coming in for their honeymoon. We even gave them a romantic dinner together, which was Umi-Chan's idea. Don't tell her I told you! Though besides that our old friends from high school occasionally stop in to help or stay the night."  
  
"Oh? Are you short on staff?" she asks.  
  
Honoka shrugs. "Only when Rin and Hanayo-Chan have classes, but don't worry about it! Our friends come by all the time to help!"  
  
"That's nice," she sighs. "I should've kept in touch with my high school friends. Though they've never tried to contact me either. Guess it was too much Nico for them to handle."  
  
The younger girl puts a hand on her shoulder. "I'm sorry to hear that, Nico-Chan. But I hope that you'll become friends with all of us here! You seem really nice and cute, but maybe a little reclusive."  
  
"Don't take offense to it," she responds. "Nico loves meeting new people, but she always needs a little time to get to know them."  
  
"That's cute," Honoka giggles.  
  
"What?"  
  
"It's really cute when you talk in third person."  
  
"It's an old habit," Nico smiles a little.  
  
"Well you know what they say about old habits," Honoka replies.  
  
"Old habits die hard?"  
  
"Huh? I thought it was 'Old habits aren't bad.' Either way it's cute."  
  
As they walk back Nico thinks about what Honoka said. Slipping in and out of speaking in third person is something that she's done since she was little. She mostly did it when she was excited or practicing her idol moves and poses, but she hadn't done that in quite a while. She decides that she'll practice some dance moves the next day.  
  
They return to the dining room at just the right time. Rin is already at the table, and Umi is helping another girl carry bowls of ramen into the dining room. When Rin sees Nico she waves at her. "Nico-Chan! Nico-Chan!" She beckons her over. "Sit next to me, nya!"  
  
As Nico sits down she notices another girl she's never seen before. The girl sits next to her and smiles. "You must be Yazawa-San. I'm Kotori Minami. I do the cleaning and décor around here."  
  
As they begin chatting, someone catches Nico's eye. It's the other cook that Honoka and Rin mentioned earlier; Hanayo. She's smiling as she's carrying her bowl of ramen to the table. She looks over to the older girl and smiles wider. "Hello, Yazawa-San. I hope that you enjoy the ramen that Rin-Chan and I prepared." It doesn't take long for her to fill up everyone's bowls including her own and seat herself next to Honoka and Rin.  
  
"Let's eat!"  
  
Nico takes a bite of the ramen and a rush of flavors hits her taste buds. The leeks, the green peppers, the slices of pork, the noodles, all of it has an amazing taste. She realizes that she might enjoy this more than the cheesecake for dessert. Which seems unlikely seeing how much she loves her sweets.  
  
"This is delicious," she exclaims.  
  
Rin smiles triumphantly. "Rin put her all into this dish for Nico-Chan!" She pauses and glances at Hanayo. "It was Kayo-chin's idea to use the leeks!"  
  
"You have good taste, Hanayo-Chan!"  
  
"Thank you," she looks a bit flustered. "It's something that I've been meaning to try out for a while now."  
  
"Oh something I've been meaning to ask," Nico says. "What's the name of this inn? I forgot to read it when I came in."  
  
"It's Muse," Kotori answers as she begins to eat her food.  
  
"That's… Different. Where'd you come up with that?"  
  
"A good friend of ours did," Umi explains. "We'd been wondering what to call this place for the longest time, and she came to us with 'Muse' and we all loved it."  
  
Suddenly the attention turns to Nico.  
  
"So Nico-Chan what brings you here?" Kotori asks.  
  
"I came here to clear my head," she explains. "I still really haven't decided what I want to do for work or anything, so ma- my mom decided that this would be a good place to experience new things."  
  
"You don't have any dreams? Or even ideas of what you want to do?"  
  
Nico doesn't want to admit that she still dreams of being an idol, so she tries to think of something else. "Maybe a singer or a doctor. Though I'd have to go back to school for that. Being a chef sounds fun too since I do like cooking."  
  
"We have a friend that's a doctor!" Honoka jumps in. "And you could help Hanayo and Rin-Chan in the kitchen sometimes!"  
  
"Honoka, she's still just an assistant," Umi responds calmly. "She hasn't even graduated yet. Though she could give you advice if you need it, Nico."  
  
"And working in the kitchen with us isn't a problem," Hanayo says.  
  
"Thank you." Being a doctor or a chef isn't her main choice, but it's better than nothing. Some experience from people more into those careers than she is may encourage her.  
  
"What about school?" Umi asks.  
  
"I graduated university last year."  
  
"Wait. You're older than us?"  
  
The room goes silent. "I'm the oldest person here?" Nico asks feeling a little awkward. If anything she thought that Umi was the oldest. She seems the most mature out of the bunch.  
  
"Are you dating anyone, Nico-Chan?" Honoka asks seemingly trying to change the subject. "You're cute enough to get as many boyfriends as you want."  
  
The question catches her off guard making her not know how to react. There's a big part of her that wants to say 'I have an online friend who's basically my girlfriend.' But that's not true, and if Idollvr17 found out that she said that it wouldn't end well, so she decides to go with the truth. "No not now."  
  
"Waiting until you find the one?" Honoka asks.  
  
"That's one way to put it."  
  
She glances around to see if anyone else is uncomfortable with this conversation and just as she expected Umi is blushing and looking away. Kotori has a hand on her shoulder seemingly comforting her. She quickly becomes curious. "What about any of you?"  
  
"Nope!" Umi reacts quickly.  
  
On the other hand, Kotori looks calm and collected with her hand still on her friend's shoulder. "Not currently."  
  
"Neither of us are," Rin responds referring to herself and Hanayo.  
  
"What about you Honoka?"  
  
She's quiet. Too quiet. "Kind of."  
  
"Woah, really?"   
  
"You've mentioned her before nya."  
  
"Wait how's it going with you two?" Hanayo asked.   
  
Honoka blushes. "We're just texting. It's really nothing. It's just because of a letter I sent to her."  
  
"A letter?" Nico becomes interested. People usually didn't send letters to their crushes unless… "Is this person famous?"  
  
"I probably shouldn't say any more." She stands up and takes her bowl to the kitchen. "I'm going to start making the cheesecake!"  
  
"Yay!" Kotori cheers.  
  
When Honoka leaves the room Nico looks at the others. "Why can't she tell us more?" She knows that she sounds nosy, but she's really curious. Honoka seems like a nice girl, so she could only hope that there's someone just as nice for her.  
  
"It's supposed to be a surprise," Kotori responds and the others nod. "She doesn't talk about it too often, but she says that she'll be in the area pretty soon."  
  
The conversation begins to be dissolve into a conversation about TV shows and if anyone's been watching this season's anime. Nico feels herself growing more and more sleepy, but she wants that cheesecake really bad.  
  
"I think I'm going to skip dessert."  
  
"Huh why nya?"  
  
"I'm feeling tired. It's been a long day. Tell Honoka to save me a piece of it." She says goodnight to everyone and even calls into the kitchen to say goodnight to Honoka.  
  
She goes up to her room, and before lying down she takes a quick bath and puts on pajamas. Once she's done she puts the inn's Wi-Fi password into her laptop quickly only to see that Idollvr17 sent more messages. She's sleepy but she can't resist checking to see what her friend had to say.  
  
Idollvr17: A-Rise released the tour dates!  **6:49pm**  
  
Idollvr17: They're coming to Totsukawa!  **6:52pm**  
  
Idollvr17: I think I've spotted you! (^_−)  **6:57pm**  
  
Idollvr17: I have an idea!  **7:13pm**  
  
Niconiconii: Sorry I was busy! What's your idea?  **8:47pm**  
  
Idollvr17: I know you, but let's see if you can guess who I am.  **8:50pm**  
  
Niconiconii: Wait how do you know who I am already (*ﾟﾛﾟ)  **8:51pm**  
  
Idollvr17: I won't say exactly. That'll ruin it (≧ヘ≦ )  **8:53pm**  
  
Niconiconii: Do I get any hints? **8:54pm**  
  
Idollvr17: I'll just tell you this… I saw you and I recognized you immediately. You may not have talked to me or even seen my face yet. 8:57pm  
  
She sighs. Idollvr17 wasn't one to play games like this, but it could be entertaining. It seems difficult though. It's not just the girls in the inn that count; it's anyone who could have seen her in the airport or on her way to the inn. She decides to go over the possibilities of it being any of the girls that's she's met already.  
  
Umi? She's seems like the type to be a closet idol fan.  
  
Rin? Definitely, but Idollvr17 seems shyer.  
  
Honoka? After what happened at dinner and including the secret stash of manga it's a possibility. But then again she still doesn't seem as shy.  
  
Hanayo? There isn't much about her that Nico knows; though her shyness made it seem like more of a possibility,  
  
Kotori? Same as Hanayo.  
  
But she realizes that she doesn't know any of them well enough yet to say for sure. She sighs and lies down on her bed. This was going to take more effort than she thought.

 


	3. First Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Since it's Nico's first full day in the inn she decides to go for a hike.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay! I went to a local convention and school's coming up soon, so I haven't had as much time to work on this. I'll do my best to keep up. I hope that you all enjoy this.

The sound of the door opening downstairs wakes Nico up. She groans realizing how early it is. She lays in bed not wanting to get up, and then she hears a voice she doesn't recognize from downstairs.

"Sorry that I didn't come by for dinner last night," the voice said. It sounds feminine and very mature. "We were packed last night. I had to help the doctor with a surgery."

"A surgery?!" It's Honoka. "That sounds scary!"

"Are you qualified enough to help with that?" And that's Umi.

"The doctor thought so," the voice answered. "Anyway I can't stay long I just came to get a coffee and chat."

"Aw okay, but are you coming to dinner?"

"I'll try to."

Nico becomes bored with their conversation and pulls herself out of bed. She instinctively grabs her laptop and checks for messages from Idollvr17. There's nothing new. No hints. No clues. Not even a riddle. Just the goodnights that they said to each other before going to sleep and some quick fangirling over the A-Rise tour. She checks the official tour website while she's thinking about it. At the top of the screen there's the tour dates. And the most important one is April 17th. That full week they'll be at Totsukawa. Though there's one problem. Nico can't afford a ticket. "What am I going to do?" she mumbles to herself. She has a good amount of time before they arrive since it's only the 6th, but not enough to get the money for even the cheaper seats.

Suddenly a knock on the door breaks her from her thoughts. "Nico-Chan?" It's Honoka. "Are you up? Food's almost ready."

"What are we having?" She asks through the door.

"Um. Rice, tamagoyaki, and natto, I think."

"Okay I'll be down in a minute!"

She puts her laptop away and gets changed. Out of excitement for the upcoming tour she puts on her favorite A-Rise shirt and a pink and blue skirt to match. She decides to keep her hair down as it was yesterday. Though she did pack her ribbons in case she did want to tie her hair up. She's kept that look for quite a while. She occasionally would tie it in a ponytail or a sloppy bun if needed, but ever since her second year of high school she's been keeping it down. She used to wear it in twintails all the time, but wearing it like that again would bring back memories she'd rather forget. And there are a lot she doesn't want to remember.

She tries to shove those memories in the back of her head as she hurries to the dining room. But as she runs through the hall she accidentally bumps into someone. "Whoops sorry!"

"Oh Nico-Chan there you are," it's Honoka again and she doesn't seem to mind. "I was worried that you fell back to sleep."

She shakes her head. "Nah I'm awake." She then remembers the voice she heard from downstairs when she woke up. "Is there someone else here? I heard another voice downstairs."

"Oh! That's our friend that we were telling you about," Honoka explains.

"The doctor's assistant?"

"Yeah! Though she just left. She just came in for a drink, but don't worry she might be coming for dinner tonight…" She interrupts herself after glancing at Nico's shirt. "Wait a second… You like A-Rise?"

She nods. "They've been my favorite idol group since high school!"

"Seriously?! They've been my favorite from high school too!" Honoka looks absolutely elated. "Wait- you didn't buy tickets for the tour yet have you?"

"No. Why?"

"Just wondering," Nico says but the look on her face says something else. "But when you said something about being a singer last night all I could think about were idols!"

"They seem pretty similar."

"Yeah! Though being an idol seems to have more dancing involved."

"Much more," Nico agrees. "Their training is pretty tough, and most of them try to be on strict diets so that they can stay in shape."

"Sounds hard. I couldn't live without my bread and sweets."

"Who couldn't? Nico tries to stay off of carbs but she just can't help it. Speaking of which there won't be too much rice with breakfast right?"

"Well… Hanayo-Chan can be a little extreme when it comes to rice."

"Huh?"

"You'll see."

Nico and her get to the dining room to see that the others are waiting for them. Just as Honoka said there's rice, tamagoyaki, and natto. Though there seems to be more rice than anything else. Oh so that's what Honoka meant she thinks as she sits down.

Hanayo notices her staring at the rice. "Do you like rice, Nico-Chan?" She nods. "Okay let me get it for you." She grabs a bowl and fills it to the top with rice, and fixes up a plate for her. "I hope that you enjoy it. Rin-Chan and I made sure not to use any spices."

"Thank you," she responds and digs into her food. Oh well she thinks I'm on vacation I don't need to worry about my carb intake. Just like dinner the night before the food is delicious. Everything cooked to perfection and with a great taste. "Mm this is so good!"

"Yay we've impressed, Nico-Chan again, nya!" Rin cheers. "Oh! And we saved you a slice of cheesecake, so you can eat it after breakfast."

"Did you sleep well last night?" Umi asks.

"Yeah the bed is really comfortable."

"That's good to hear. So you're enjoying yourself here?"

"Yes! I really like it here!" She takes another bite of tamagoyaki and natto savoring the delicious tastes. When she glances around she notices Rin looking at her A-Rise shirt. "Idol fan?"

Rin nods enthusiastically. "I love A-Rise, nya! All of us here do!"

"All of you… Even Umi-Chan?"

"Maybe a little…" She's blushing.

"A little? Tell that to the posters in your room."

"Honoka!"

Nico chuckles. "I didn't know that you all are such big fans."

"It's Honoka's fault," is all Umi says.

"Huh?"

"Honoka-Chan got all of us into idols during high school," Kotori explains putting her hand on Umi's shoulder. "Umi-Chan is too embarrassed to admit that she was the biggest A-Rise fan out of all of us."

"Kotori!"

"Don't be embarrassed, Umi-Chan! Your love of idols is cute. I heard you singing one of the songs last night and your voice is perfect for it!"

Umi's face gets redder.

"Umi-Chan, you can sing?" Nico asks.

"Yes! Umi-Chan is such a good singer!" Kotori answers for her.

"Not really…"

"But you are!" She argues. "A good dancer too!"

Honoka snorts.

"Kotori!" She's blushing more now.

"Don't be embarrassed, nya! Kayo-chin always sings idol songs for me too."

It suddenly becomes what looks like a blushing contest between Umi and Hanayo. Umi's in the lead with almost a completely red face while Hanayo has just a slight pink tint to her face.

"Rin-Chan… Don't tell everyone that. It's embarrassing."

"Why not, nya? I want everyone to know how cute Kayo-chin is!"

"You two don't have to be so embarrassed," Nico butts in. "If you have the talent to sing and dance you should express it." Saying that makes her feel hypocritical. She hasn't practiced dancing or singing for quite a few months despite how much she wants to be an idol. "That's what Nico would do at least."

That doesn't stop them from blushing. "I guess you're right," Umi says quietly. But her face doesn't look like she's fully accepted what Nico said.

Kotori rubs her back. "See Umi-Chan it's like Nico-Chan said. Having the talent to sing and dance shouldn't be embarrassing."

Hanayo is still blushing too and she nods when Nico looks her way.

"So what are your plans for today, Nico-Chan?"

"I'd like to take a hike somewhere," she puts her chopsticks down to look Honoka in the eye. "Do you know anywhere that's good for hiking?"

"Of course!" She jumps up and leads Nico into the common room. She opens an older looking desk in the back corner of the room, and pulls out a medium sized map. She points out a path on it highlighted in a light blue. "This one leads to a shrine that a good friend of ours works at. She can give you water and food if you need it after the walk there."

"That sounds great! How long is the walk?"

"About an hour and a half," she still keeps a cheerful tone. "Most of it is uphill. It's really good for your legs!"

Nico feels hesitant. She doesn't want her legs to hurt and the walk seems longer than expected. "Maybe another path..."

"I'll give you water for the trip," she insists, but it isn't convincing enough.

"That's okay."

Honoka appears to be in deep thought. Probably thinking of other ways to convince Nico to go down that path. "Oh! They have a really nice idol merchandise shop up there!"

"That seems a little out of place."

"That's the fun of it! Plus, I bet they have some of A-Rise's rarer albums there!"

She thinks about it. If there's an idol shop, there may be training videos and CDs that she could get to help her work on her dance moves. There's also the promise of rare A-Rise albums. Maybe even posters that she's never seen before. "Okay. I'll go."

"Yay! The path is only a short distance from here! When you're ready let me know and I'll point you in the right direction."

"I think I'm ready now. I don't really need anything else. You said I could get water at the shrine anyway right?"

"Yup! You should be fine!"

Honoka pokes her head back into the dining room and gives everyone a thumbs up. "Nico-Chan's about to go for a hike to the shrine! She'll probably be back in a few hours." She hears several okays from the others, and is lead to the entrance. Honoka opens the doors and points her to what looks like a mountain. "There it is! Just follow the path that's shown on the sign before you go up."

"Wait! I have to climb up this huge thing?!"

"No! The shrine is only halfway up there. It won't take too long! Call the front desk if you need anything." She hurries back inside closing the door behind her.

Nico shrugs and makes her way to the bottom of the mountain, and just as Honoka had said there was a sign at the bottom with the different paths on it. She finds the light blue one and starts hiking.

The way up is very beautiful with many trees just coming into bloom and many flowers along the path. Nico wonders if someone working at the shrine put all of the flowers there. It's a nice thought, but it's probably because of the civilians in the area.

Time passes and she swears it's been well over an hour, but doesn't care enough to check. Her legs ache and sweat drips off of her forehead. She wonders if the shrine workers walk up this path every day. That's total hell if it's true. She stays focused on the promise of cold water and an idol shop ahead. Though seeing the scenery the thought of an idol shop in this location seems ridiculous. Especially one that's near a shrine.

At long last the shrine comes into view and she can't contain her excitement. She runs as fast as she can to the upcoming building. Her legs burn from the walk so she's ready to relax and get some water from the girl that Honoka mentioned. She gets closer and the shrine becomes clearer though she's too thirsty to pay attention to the details of it. She also notices someone standing outside of the shrine watching her. Most likely it's the girl she's looking for. As she pushes herself to run faster she feels her foot get caught on something, and before she realizes it she's falling.

 

When she wakes up her right foot is hurting badly. She puts her hand on it to feel that it's been bandaged, and winces at the pain of touching it. "How did I…" She suddenly remembers how she had run to the shrine almost insanely to get a drink of water. She remembers tripping, but not much after that. "I must be in the hospital now," she mumbles to herself. She opens her eyes and looks around the room. It's definitely a hospital.

"You're awake! Thank goodness."

She turns to see a young woman with long purple hair wearing a miko. She's sitting on a chair next to the hospital bed, and appears to be relieved that Nico woke up. "Who are you?"

"I'm Nozomi. I saw you fall." She has a honeyed voice or she's just speaking that way to calm her down. "You were passed out, and your right foot looked incredibly swollen. So I did what I thought I should do and drove you to the hospital myself."

"Thank you," is all that she can think of saying.

"The doctor already checked you out as you can see, but I'll call her to check on you."

She nods. "Thank you so much. I'm very grateful."

"You don't have to thank me." She gets up to pick up the phone plugged into the wall. "Hello? Yes, it's me from 25B. Yes, she's up now. Thank you we'll do our best to be patient." She hangs up. "The doctor is seeing another patient at the moment, so in the meantime her assistant will be here to check on you."

"How long do we have to wait?"

"She'll be here any minute." She's quiet for a second. "Are you the one staying at Muse Inn?"

Nico nods. "You must be the friend that they told me about. It's nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you too," she responds. "I've known all of them since high school. If you ask me they haven't changed since. Especially Honoka. She's always been good with meeting and making friends with new people." She looks at Nico's shirt and giggles as if she's remembering something funny. "Your shirt is very nostalgic to me."

"Oh really?"

"We were all big idol fans in high school," she says. "Even now we still love them, but back then Honoka had the idea of starting an idol group for school. Our school wasn't the most popular and she always wanted it to get the attention 'it deserved.' We all went along with her idol group idea, but the school's director insisted that it was the last thing the school needed. Honoka wasn't willing to give up though. I wouldn't be surprised if you heard this story already though. Honoka does like to talk about our idol days quite a bit."

"I haven't heard about this yet. I've only been here for a day, so it makes sense... But why isn't she aiming to be an idol today?"

"That's a story for another day."

Nico is pretty interested in how Honoka's idol club worked out, so not being able to hear the rest disappoints her. She knows that it was probably personal, and it wasn't really her business. She hopes that it worked out better than her attempt of an idol club in high school anyway. It also made her wonder what got Honoka more into the idea of their own inn instead. What got Honoka to give up her dream of being an idol? Running an inn seemed to be fun, but not the same feeling as fulfilling your true dreams. Despite her hardships Nico still wants to be an idol, but apparently that's not the same for Honoka.

"Yazawa-San?" A taut sounding voice breaks Nico from her thoughts. A young woman stands at the doorway holding a clipboard. She has beautiful red hair and glorious violet eyes. Though the look on her face and the tone of voice makes her seem annoyed. It's almost like Nico's her last patient of the day, and she's been waiting all day for her to wake up so that she can go home.

"That's me."

"Hello, Maki-Chan."

"Nozomi?" The young woman suddenly seems embarrassed and caught off guard. "What are you doing here? And it's 'Nishikino-San' while you're here!"

"Nicocchi here tripped and fell outside of my shrine, so I brought her here."

"Nicocchi?" Maki and Nico ask at the same time.

Nozomi shrugs. "It's a cute nickname for a cute girl."

Nico blushes a little. She hasn't been complimented more since she came here. On the other hand, Maki doesn't look impressed. "Well I'm glad you brought her here, Nozomi."

"How do you two know each other?"

"You're not supposed to ask about doctors' personal lives."

"High school."

"Nozomi!"

Nico tries not to chuckle. She could tell that this was the other friend that Honoka and the others previously mentioned. The doctor's assistant, the one who visited this morning while she was just waking up, the one who looks like she could be a model. "That's nice. I'm guessing that you're friends with everyone at Muse Inn."

"Oh you must be their guest that they were talking about. Why aren't your parents with you? Someone as young as you are could get in trouble being down here alone."

She feels her face get hot. "Actually I just graduated university last year."

"So you're older than me?" She shrugs. "So getting on to what the doctor wants me to do. She says for me to get your height, weight and blood pressure since all of that couldn't easily been done while you were knocked out. Nozomi, can you help her onto the scale?"

Nozomi gets Nico out of bed and helps her walk over to the scale across the room. She helps her balance on it so that Maki could get her weight. Next they measured her height and sat her down to check her blood pressure.

"Everything seems average," Maki says. "You're fairly healthy, but frequent exercise wouldn't hurt. Also the doctor says that you have a twisted ankle and should rest for a few days. Try not to walk on it basically."

"Will I need crutches?"

"Probably. But after a few days of rest you'll be okay. So don't go running after shrines anymore or whatever you did."

She leaves the room and Nico turns to Nozomi. "Has she always been… Rude?"

"That's just how she is," she responds looking interested. "Especially if she meets a certain kind of person. She usually clashes with people like you."

"People like me?"

"High energy, musical, full of dreams, clumsy, kind of dumb. That type."

"Hey! I'm not dumb!"

"Sorry just speaking what I'm thinking. Maki-Chan isn't good at meeting new people. It's not that she's shy… She's just…"

"Rude."

"Fine she can be rude, but she's very nice once you get to know her."

"She doesn't seem very fond of me though," Nico mutters.

"She'll warm up to you. I swear it."

Nico isn't convinced. With that cold tone and annoyed expression on Maki's face there seems to be no way that a friendship would form between the two.


End file.
